In an open letter addressed to the EU’s Transport Ministers, the ETF makes a plea for a transparent, inclusive, and open process to shape the future transport policy.
The exit from COVID-19 coincides with the phase of designing a new transport policy. For the ETF, it is now time for open discussions, and for policy-makers to listen to the transport workers who make Europe move, and to the trade unions that represent them.
As future transport policies are being discussed, the ETF is receiving worrying signals from the Commission on trade unions’ inclusions in meaningful talks and is witnessing a disturbing ‘business as usual’ attitude from high-level EU officials.
The EU cannot carry on as business as usual, and it cannot follow the same past logics:
For years, the ETF has called out transport policies pushing for growing liberalisation, and incentivising competition. These policies have pushed for a race to the bottom to the detriment of workers. A situation that has been exacerbated by the development of an internal market built without a robust social dimension, allowing for the propagation of dubious business models based on social shopping within the EU.
COVID-19 has laid bare the cracks in the foundation of transport, and our transport workers have had enough! While moving goods and passengers in cities, across countries and all around Europe, transport workers have paid the price of an internal market that was built without protection for the weakest.
The ETF and its 5 million transport workers demand and are ready to fight for a different transport sector. Now is the time to shape a fair future transport policy!
The ETF also comments and relays its views and priorities on the issues discussed during the latest video conference of EU Transport Ministers. The ETF believes that the lack of willingness, from several Member States, to coordinate on measures to be taken in transport has caused negative repercussions on transport workers’ working conditions, and urges them to take a different approach. Sector-specific comments and input on investments and recovery funds can be found in the annex of the open letter.
The letter can be downloaded at your right.